Catheter adapter having filtered air vent

ABSTRACT

Tubular catheter adapter for use in a urinary drainage system comprising first and second tubes joined by a tubular sleeve having a filtered aperture in its sidewall at a location protected and remote from the normal flow path of urine through the adapter. The filtered aperture is covered by a bacteria filtering material through which air can pass, but body fluids cannot, thereby forming a filtered air vent in the sidewall of the adapter.

United States Patent [191 Knox [451 Sept. 23, 1975 CATHETER ADAPTER HAVING FILTERED [54] 3,830,241 8/l974 Dye et al 128/349 R AIR VENT [75] lnventor: Kenneth Howard Knox, Libertyville, Pri r E in r Dalton L, Truluck Atrorney, Agenl, 0r Firm-Aaron L. Hardt; Robert L. [73] Assignee: Abbott Laboratories, North Nlblack Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: June 21, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 481,597

Tubular catheter adapter for use in a urinary drainage system comprislng'first and second tubes joined by a [52] 128/349 R; 285/DIG' 25 tubular sleeve having a filtered aperture in its sidewall It. CI- at a location protected and remote from the normal [58] held of Search l28/ 349 350 flow path of urine through the adapter. The filtered 128/276, 295, 55/500, 137/216; 285/154, aperture is covered by a bacteria filtering material 25 through which air can pass, but body fluids cannot, thereby forming a filtered air vent in the sidewall of [56] References Cited the adapter UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,690,3 l5 9/1972 Chittenden et al. 128/275 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures -,=-'f .-I. l3

/ Wa e-a US Patent Sept. 23,1975 3,906,958

CATHETER ADAPTER HAVING FILTERED AIR VENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to urinary drainage systems,

and more particularly, to catheter adapters having a filtered air vent therein. A

When an indwelling catheter is utilized in a patient for body fluid drainage by gravitational means, a column of urine is formed in'the Conventional urinary drainage system which persists after the urine is drained from the patients bladder. The weight of such a column results in the development of negative pressure in the patients bladder, not only emptying it, but also tending to draw the bladder wall against the end of the catheter and even partly into the eyes thereof, with serious adverse effects on the patient. Because the column of urine is formed in the conventional urinary drainage system by the fact that air cannot enter into the lower end of the relatively small internal diameter drainage tube due to the surface tension of the urine column at that point. various means have been suggest ed to allow ambient or atmospheric air into the drainage tube.

As stated in US. Pat. No. 3,604,420 granted Sept. 14, 1971, to V. L. Vaillancourt, the formation of such a column of urine can be obviated by the use of abnormally large diameter tubes having an internal diameter larger than /2. inch. However, most urinary drainage systems presently in use employ tubing in the range of 3/16 9/32 inch internal diameter and substitution of larger tubing is not considered practical, economical. or convenient. Therefore, US. Pat. No. 3,604,420 discloses a drainage tube having a noncircular lumen, longitudinally ridged or grooved to increase the perimeter of the tube lumen, thereby in effect substantially increasing the intcrnal circumference of the tube without increasing its outer diameter.

Further, US. Pat. Nos. 3,419,009 granted Dec. 31, 1968, and 3,429,314 granted Feb. 25, 1969, to R. E. Ericson disclose modified Foley catheters having at one end thereof a vacuum breaking device consisting of a filtered air vent for entrance of bacteria-free air into the lumen of the catheters. Similarly, US. Pat. No. 3,598,124 granted Aug. 10, 1971, to H. W. Anderson, et al., discloses a T-shaped catheter adapter for a urinary drainage system comprising a ventingmeans in the form of a flutter valve in the T of the adapter, while US. Pat. No. 3,690,315 granted Sept. 12,1972, to R. M. Chittenden, et al., discloses a tubular adapter having a filtered opening disposed inan endwall of. an enlarged chamber or tubular sleeve portion thereof.

While all of the inventions disclosed in the abovementioned prior art patents are useful in their own right, they are all disadvantageous at some point, either because of their cost of manufacture, relative bulkiness, direct contact of the urine flow therethrough with the filtered air vent thereof, or the limited area of the filtered air vent. Sustained contact of the urine flow with an air vent filter is especially undesirable in that it eventually clogs the filter as the solids, electrolytes and sediments carried in the urine settle onto the filter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive, readily usable catheter adapter having a filtered air vent of increased. area relative to those known in the prior art;,

which vent is protected and remote from the normal flow path of urine through that adapter.

In accordance with these and other objects. there is provided by the present invention an integral tubular.

- and a third aperture located in its sidewall and covered by a bacteria filtering material through which air can pass,'but body fluids cannot. The aperture in the sidewall of the sleeve only extends a predetermined distance along the axial length of the sleeve.

One of the two tubes extends into the sleeve across the entire length of the aperture in. its sidewall and is adapted at the opposite end for engagement with a urinary drainage catheter. The second tube has one end in communication with'the interior of the sleeve and is adapted at the other end for engagement with the proximal end of a drainage tube that is joined at its distal end to a urine collection container. Accordingly, when the catheter adapter is used as contemplated, a consecutive urine flow path through the catheter, catheter adapterand drainage tube into the urine collection container is provided remote from the filtered aperture in the sidewall of the adapter, whereby that filtered aperture can admit filtered, atmospheric air into the flow path in the vicinity of the proximal end of the drainage tube without being directly in contact with the urine flow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and attendant advantages will become obvious to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of the catheter adapter of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line 22 in FIG. 1 of the adapter thereof; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 3--3 in FIG. 1 of the adapter thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows generally an integral catheter adapter 9 comprising a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Catheter adapter 9 can be made of any suitable materials including metals and. plastics and, preferably, is made of acrylonitrilebutadienestyrene terpolymer. The catheter adapter 9 comprises a first tube 11 which is joined to a second tube 13 by a tu bular sleeve 15. Tubular sleeve 15 has endwalls l7 and 19 each with an aperture therethrough providing an entrance into the interior of tubular sleeve 15. While tubular sleeve 15 is shown as being cylindri cal in FIG. 1, it may have other configurations as well. Likewise, while tubes 11 and 13 are, shown in FIG. 1 to be coaxial with sleeve 15, they may be eccentric to each other, if so desired.

Tubular sleeve 15 has a third aperture 21 disposed in its sidewall and covered by a bacteria filtering material through which air can pass, but body fluids cannot. Aperture 21 can be covered by a hydrophobic filtering material such as Gelman ANH-450 material that has been insert molded into sleeve 15 by techniques well known in the fabricating art. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, aperture 21 extends around the entire circumference of sleeve and is defined by a plurality of ribs 23. However, if desired, aperture 21 can occupy only a portion of the perimeter of sleeve 15. Aperture 21 does not extend the entire axial length of sleeve 15, but instead distally terminates at a predetermined distance axially from first endwall 17.

Tube 11 has one end inserted into sleeve 15 through the aperture in endwall 17 and extending therein a distance at least substantially equal to the predetermined distance from endwall 17 at which aperture 21 terminates. The other end of tube 11 is adapted for engagement with a urinary drainage catheter. Therefore, if desired, at least a portion of tube 11 can be tapered in the direction axially opposite sleeve 15, thereby adapting tube 11 to complement a plurality of catheter sizes.

Tube 13 has one end thereof in communication with the interior of tubular sleeve 15 through the aperture of endwall 19 and the opposite end thereof adapted for engagement with the proximal end of a urinary drainage tube which is joined at its distal end to a urine collection container. The end of tube 13 in communication with the interior of tubular sleeve 15 is spaced from the inserted end of tube 11 a distance suitable to allow atmospheric air passing through aperture 21 to readily enter tube 13.

Thus, when employed in a urinary drainage system, catheter adapter 9 provides a consecutive flow path from the catheter, through catheter adapter 9 into the urinary drainage tube and container. That consecutive flow path is remote from the filtered aperture 21 which is adapted to admit filtered, atmospheric air into the flow path in the vicinity of the proximal end of the urinary drainage tube which tube 13 is adapted to receive.

As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 2, in the preferred embodiment, at least that portion of tube 11 extending i'nto sleeve 15 has an outer diameter substantially smaller than the inner diameter of sleeve 15. Further, as can also be seen in FIG. 2, the preferred embodiment of catheter adapter 9 has a tubular sleeve 15 which in the vicinity of endwall 19 has its inner diameter tapered toward the aperture in endwall 19 to form a funnel. Finally, while integral catheter adapter 9 has been described as three discrete parts joined together by means well known to those skilled in the fabricating art, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that adapter 9 could be fabricated from only two parts or molded as one integral part.

Having now described the invention in specific detail and exemplified the manner in which it may be carried into practice, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, that innumerable variations, applications, modifications and extensions of the basic principles involved may be made without departing from its sphere or scope.

That which I claim is:

1. An integral tubular adapter for use in a urinary drainage system, said adapter comprising first and second tubes joined solely by a tubular sleeve,

said tubular sleeve having first and second endwalls each with an aperture therethrough, and a third aperture disposed in its sidewall and covered by a bacteria filtering material through which air can pass but body fluids cannot, said third aperture terminating a predetermined distance axially from said first endwall, said first tube having one end thereof continuously open to air passed through said third aperture and extending into said sleeve through said aperture of said first endwall a distance at least substantially equal to said predetermined distance from said first endwall at which said third aperture terminates, said first tube having its outer end adapted for engagement with a urinary drainage catheter; and

said second tube having one end in communication with said aperture of said second endwall of said sleeve and the other end thereof adapted for engagement with the proximal end of a drainage tube joined at its distal end to a urine collection container,

whereby a consecutive flow path through said catheter, adapter and drainage tube into said container is provided remote from said filtered third aperture, which third aperture is adapted to continuously admit filtered, atmospheric air into said flow path in the vicinity of said proximal end of said drainage tube.

2. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein at least that portion of said first tube extending into said sleeve has an outer diameter substantially smaller than the inner diameter of said sleeve.

3. The adapter defined in claim 1 where, in the vicinity of said second endwall, the inner diameter of said sleeve is tapered toward said aperture in said second endwall.

4. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the outer diameter of said end of said first tube adapted for engagement with said catheter is tapered in the direction axially opposite said sleeve.

5. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein said third aperture extends around the entire circumference of said sleeve.

' 6. The adapter defined in claim 5 wherein said third lar sleeve, first tube and second tube are coaxial.

* =l l l 

1. An integral tubular adapter for use in a urinary drainage system, said adapter comprising first and second tubes joined solely by a tubular sleeve, said tubular sleeve having first and second endwalls each with an aperture therethrough, and a third aperture disposed in its sidewall and covered by a bacteria filtering material through which air can pass but body fluids cannot, said third aperture terminating a predetermined distance axially from said first endwall, said first tube having one end thereof continuously open to air passed through said third aperture and extending into said sleeve through said aperture of said first endwall a distance at least substantially equal to said predetermined distance from said first endwall at which said third aperture terminates, said first tube having its outer end adapted for engagement with a urinary drainage catheter; and said second tube having one end in communication with said aperture of said second endwall of said sleeve and the other end thereof adapted for engagement with the proximal end of a drainage tube joined at its distal end to a urine collection container, whereby a consecutive flow path through said catheter, adapter and drainage tube into said container is provided remote from said filtered third aperture, which third aperture is adapted to continuously admit filtered, atmospheric air into said flow path in the vicinity of said proximal end of said drainage tube.
 2. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein at least that portion of said first tube extending into said sleeve has an outer diameter substantially smaller than the inner diameter of said sleeve.
 3. The adapter defined in claim 1 where, in the vicinity of said second endwall, the inner diameter of said sleeve is tapered toward said aperture in said second endwall.
 4. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the outer diameter of said end of said first tube adapted for engagement with said catheter is tapered in the direction axially opposite said sleeve.
 5. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein said third aperture extends around the entire circumference of said sleeve.
 6. The adapter defined in claim 5 wherein said third aperture is further defined by a plurality of ribs in said sidewall of said sleeve.
 7. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein said material covering said third aperture is hydrophobic.
 8. The adapter defined in claim 1 wherein said tubular sleeve, first tube and second tube are coaxial. 